Electrolytic cell



R. Q. BROWN.

'ELECTROLYTIC CELL. APPLICATIONy FILED FEB- 2l, |917-A Patent-ed Oct. 14, 1919.

erica. A

RYMOND Q. BRGWN, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

ELECTROLYTIC CELL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (1ct. 1d, 1919.,

Application filed February 21, 1917. Serial No. 150,600.

ing oxygen and hydrogen from water, and my object is to roduce a cell of this character which is e cient in operation and of simple, strong, durable and inexpensive construction, andwhich furthermore automatically indicates the volume of Water in .the cell and ards against danger of mixing the gases in the event the water falls below a redetermined level.

ith the objects named in view the invention consists in certain novel andv useful features of construction and combinations being secured in extend up throng said cover plate and the are engaged by clamping of parts as hereinafter .described and claimed; and in order that it may 'be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1, is a top plan view of an electrolytic cell embodying my invent1on.

Fig. 2, is an edge. elevation of the cell.

Fig. 3, is a horizontal section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2, but on a larger scale.

Fig. 4, is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1. 'l i Fig. 5, is a section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1. A

In the said drawing l is the shell which is deep and wide but narrow., and said shell preferably tapers downwardly as shown in 'ghe shell is provided at its upper end with an outwardly projecting annular flan e '2, and said flange is provided with a pair of notches 3, through which extend bolts lprovided with angular head 5, itting against the underside of lianges 2 and the outer side of the shell and rigidly secured to the same in any suitable manner. The bolts 4, are adapted to have clamped upon them the ends of conducting bars of an adjacent cell, not shown, as forming no part of this invention.

6 is the cover plate for the shell, the same osition by bolts 7 which v'lo insulate the. shell from the cover plate,

a gasket 9 is interposed between said parts, and to insulate the bolts 7 from the cover plate 6, the latter is provided witliopenings 10 in which lit insulation disks 11, similar but larger disks ,12 being mounted on the bolts between the cover plate 6 and the washers 13 fitting around the bolts and clamped against disks 12. By this arrangement the cover is secured firmly in position vflitllout being in direct contact with the s e Dependingfrom the cover plate within f the shell and of substantially the same cross sectional conguration as the latter, is a bell 14, and pendent from said bell is a sack or diaphragm 15 which is of such inaterial that it is impervious to gas but not to water. The sack or diaphragm acts to prevent oxygen liberated within the sack and hydrogen liberated exteriorly from mixing, one of such gases being collected in the bell 14 and the other inv the shell around the bell, it being'. understood that the water level should be maintained about the lower end of the 'bell to utilize the latter asa partition between the two charges of gases above the water level.

A float 16 is arranged within the shell to indicate the level of the water therein. Any suitable type of float may be employed, that shown having a vertical stem 17 extending slidingly through a guide bracket 18 and l the cover and into atransparenttube 19 projecting upward fromthe cover and secured to the same with a gas tight relation. The location of. the upper end of the rod 17 Within the tube 19 will indicate the level of the water in the shell.

Arranged vertically within the bell and sack is a thin fiat anode 20, the saine being suitably secured rigidly to the enlarged lower ends of a pair of inverted bolts 21, said bolts extending upward through insulation disks `22 fitting in openings in the cover, and

through insulation disks 23 and 24:, respectively interposed between the headed ends of the bolts 21 and the cover, and between the latter and nuts 25 screwed on the bolts to secure the same in ri id relation to the cover. From one of the olts 21 an electric wire, not shown, will lead in the customary manner, and a second wire, Ynot shown, will be connected as customary to one of the bolts 4, electrically connected to the shell which constitutes the cathode of the cell.

As a` reliable protection against the possibility ot' mixture of gases, vent tubes 26 and 2T extend through and are insulated trom the cover, the said tubes being secured in position by nuts 28 with their lower ends between the water level and the lower end ot' the bell` so as to be prepared to permit gas to escape without mixing, in the event the water level should t'all below the lower ends oi' both vent tubes. Either of the vent tubes is adapted i'or use as a filling tube.

'l`he generation process is the saine with this eell as with others oi its type, that is to say the gases which are produced by electrolvsis within and without the sack, adjacent the anode and eatliode respectively, pass up into the hell and shell above the water line and lrom thenee through a pipe 29 from the hell and a pipe l() l'roni the shell into storage tanks or the like` not shown. The advantage derived through the. large surface of the anod i and cathode is common to electrolytie eells ol' this class` and the electric current in eii'ecting decomposition ot' thc water of course passes through .the sack interposed between the anode and cathode as usual. l have however obtained better results by causing the side. walls ot' the shell to converge downwardly, as by disposing the walls closer to the anode at the lower end of the cell, the resistance to the passage of the curre-nt diminishes correspondingly and thus it is believed, a wider distribution of the current. is ell'ected and a greater quantity of gases liberated in proportion than could be accomplishfal with a cell having parallel instead ot converging sides.

Secured to the lower end of the anode 20 is a spacing sleeve 21 of insulating niaterial, they saine effectively guarding against physical contact between the anode and the inclosing sack l5. It is of course desirable to guard against contact between the sac-lc and the anode to avoid injury to the former and the possibility ot' hydrogen passing up through the sack and into the bell.

From the above description it will be apparent that l have produced an electrolytic cell embodying all ot the features enumerated as desirable, and while l have illustrated and described what 1 now believe to be the preferred type, I wish it to be understood that l reserve the right to make all changes which properly fall Within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

l claim:

An electrolytic cell comprising a receptacle constituting a cathode provided at its upper end with outwardly projecting flanges, a covering bolted upon and insulated flom the flanged end ot' the cathode, and provided with a: bell depending into the cathode, a sack attached at its upper or open end to and depending troni the bell within and out of contact with the cathode, a float for indicating the water level within the cathode, a pair of independent gas venttuhes extending down through the covering into the cathode within and without the bell and terminating short of the lower end of the latter and insulated from the covering, a plate constituting an anode and disposed within the bell and sack out ot' contact with both, and provided with a pair ot headed bolt extensions extending up through and insulated from and clamped to the covering, and a pair of bolts having angular heads secured Vto and against the outer side of the cathode and against the underside of one of the flanges thereof, and spaced from and projecting upwardly beyond the covering.

In testimony whereof I alx my signature.

RAYMOND Q. BROVN. 

